In the Spirit: Christmas Novena

As Catholics (and Christians) we believe that Advent is a time for "preparing the way of the Lord" into our hearts and lives in a profound and personal way as we anticipate the Nativity of the Incarnate Lord.  [Wow!  That's way cooler than just anticipating a fat guy in carmine fuzz with cookie crumbs stuck in his beard trying to shimmy up and down our chimneys.]

My sophomore lit teacher in high school (thanks Mr. Westhoff!) introduced me to the St. Andrew's Christmas Novena (which is neither a true novena--9 day prayer--nor a prayer to St. Andrew).  At first I was skeptical.  Seriously?  Why do we say it 15 times??  I think God gets the point.  Plus, it probably wasn't "piercing cold" when Christ was born that close to the equator.  [Yes, I was an internally arrogant teen.]

Then, it began to click.  I have to say it 15 times because the first 10 times I'm not even focused on the prayer.  It takes that long for me to really, honestly re-focus on Christ and the mystery of Christmas.  Also, the language of the prayer is beautiful.  It doesn't matter what temperature it was--he was born amidst difficulty and a world full of icy hearts (like mine).

This prayer (of which I cannot find the origins, much to my dismay), is traditionally (for the last hundred years) said from the feast of St. Andrew (Nov. 30th--today) until Christmas Eve.  It is piously believed to be efficacious in obtaining an answer to your request, in addition to being a powerful way of focusing your heart on Christmas.

Say it 15 times a day (5 times before each meal if you need to break it up) for a particular intention.  Just take the time to memorize it the first day or two so you can say it whenever you remember.  Now, I look forward to this devotion every year and share it with my students.

Christmas Novena

Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment at which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary at midnight in Bethlehem in the piercing cold. At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, to hear my prayers and grant my desires. (Mention your intentions here) Through the merits of Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother. Amen.
Image source

Don't Be Like Jack O'Lantern

First, read this story.

Apparently, the tradition of carving pumpkins used to be the Irish tradition of carving turnips on All Hallows' Eve to keep evil spirits away.  When the immigrants came here, pumpkins were larger and partly hollowed out already, so the switch was made.

I don't like the idea of celebrating Halloween.  I think that over-commercialization doesn't rob a religious holiday of its religious significance.  Whether or not October 31st has tried to be "reclaimed" by Christians or not, it's still celebrated as a (or The) high "feast" day of several pagan cults.  I don't think we can ignore that by just swearing off overly gory and skanky costumes.

It also kinda bothers me when people try to "Catholic-it-up;" you know--they go trick-or-treat to the rectory in a saint's costume and all that jazz.  The Halloween for the Hungry door to door food drives things bother me less, if only because it's taking advantage of people's temporary hospitality to help them do a good thing.

What does this mean for our family?  Well, we've always celebrated feast days as kinda a big deal around here.  I try to cook something nicer from scratch; we'll have wine or beer with dinner; and we'll make an effort to share some family time.  November 1st & 2nd are legitimate feast days (with All Saint's Day being a holy day of obligation!)  We'll celebrate the vigils and feast days of those holy days rather than trying to morph a pagan holiday to fit our Christian ideals.

I like "harvest" themed or "costume" parties in the fall, but I really don't think our kids will do the whole trick-or-treat and Halloween party thing.  I'm sure there will be times when that is difficult for them.  However, lending legitimacy to a pagan feast day by downplaying it's significance is exactly what Screwtape would have loved.  Jack put off taking the devil seriously until too late.  I don't think I want to play that game.

I would love to know your thoughts and how your families act in regards to Halloween.  This is a difficult topic for Catholic and Christian families to seriously consider and decide prayerfully how to act as people "in but not of the world."

St. Thomas More: Thought for the Day

St. Thomas More was the leading intellectual of his day.  He was the adviser to Henry VIII and held many eminent positions in the government and academia of England.  However, he opposed Henry's illicit divorce and remarriage and he refused to take a oath to Henry, recognizing him as the supreme head of the Church of England.  For this, he was incarcerated in the Tower of London [I went to see his cell & where he scratched his name on the wall!] and beheaded.  Here's an inspiring quote from this brave man to aid your meditation on his feast day:

"What does it avail to know that there is a God, which you not only believe by Faith, but also know by reason: what does it avail that you know Him if you think little of Him?" St. Thomas More

 Also, below is The Prayer of St. Thomas More.  At my school, we begin each day with this prayer to our patron.  It is an efficacious prayer as I seek to focus my efforts towards living for Christ each day.

O Lord,
give us a mind
that is humble, quiet, peaceable,
patient and charitable,
and a taste of your Holy Spirit
in all our thoughts, words, and deeds.
O Lord,
give us a lively faith, a firm hope,
a fervant charity, a love of you.
Take from us all lukewarmness in meditation
and all dullness in prayer.
Give us fervor and delight in thinking of you,
your grace, and your tender compassion toward us.
Give us,
good Lord,
the grace to work for
the things we pray for.

--St Thomas More, 1478-1535

 Image: http://stmacademy.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/STMA_content-image_patron-saint.jpgg

The Conservative Dilema: Finding virtue in valid criticism

The conservative dilemma in today's deteriorating, cultural milieu is how to be a voice of reason and truth and yet maintain the holy joy, charity, and compassion to which we, as Christians, are called. In the Inferno, Dante's self-named character finds the balance between the extremes of anger (to be wrathful or sullen) in righteous anger (the passionate defense of what is just, not stemming from pride, but from humble duty to a greater good that is being assaulted). I propose that we may, similarly, find a mean to embrace regarding critical approaches between the extremes of judgment & quietism.

Judgment (& it's side-kick Hypocrisy) is an easy trap for men of Faith to fall into, despite the best of intentions. So easily, we, like the Pharisees whom Christ admonished, can focus on performing the expected liturgical actions and saying the correct Catholic & conservative phrases and simultaneously fail to commit our hearts and minds to Christ. We form our own sub-culture version of what is "PC," and we reject those who step outside of our pre-set boundaries. Granted, truth is on our side & many of the things we say are factually correct. However, the self-righteous often abandon humility and compassion in favor of the opportunity to point out another deviation from perfection.

Quietism, on the other hand, is a less obvious, yet no less insidious force within our society. Dorothy Sayers eloquently defined quietism saying, "The sin of our times is the sin that believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, and remains alive because there is nothing for which it will die." Dante condemned the indifferent to the vestibule of Hell; their quietism was so nauseous to Heaven AND Hell that neither would have them. Too many people, who will wear the "conservative" or "Catholic" sticker when asked whom they follow, run from any real statements, actions, or commitments that would demonstrate their fidelity to truth and their belief in a cause. Their fear of "not causing any waves" results in an undisturbed, fetid swamp of mediocrity that only breeds intellectual pestilence and its carriers.

The mean between these common excesses may be found in something I'll call "righteous dissent." It would be defined as a charitable boldness in speech and action in defense of the good for the purpose of informing the ignorant and calling others to action and reform. Like righteous anger, this virtue stems from our nature as communal beings and our subsequent responsibility within a community of persons. It is an attitude stemming from the virtue of hope. Thus, its fruits should not be panic or despair. This holy boldness cannot be confused with muck-raking, slander, or gossip. It is not a judgment of persons but of actions. The goal is not to expose the cancer in society so much as to heal it; yet the tumorous ideas and habits of our culture must be engaged directly to be eradicated.

On a practical plane, I think this requires us as conservatives and Christians to do several very practical things. First, pray. It is difficult to maintain humility and courage (both necessary in the exercise of righteous dissent) apart from Christ in His Passion, where He perfectly exemplified both. Secondly, engage the culture & your fellow man. You don't have to be an obsessive news junkie, but you do need to be a well informed citizen. Vote, research current issues, read & listen with a discerning mind, and try to live your life in harmony with your beliefs and values . Speak with prudence and charity; those who are in your life should know where your values lie. Approach others with the constant belief in their capacity for deeper conversion. I believe that if every conservative and Christian sought to live out righteous disent and holy boldness in this country, my son may grow up in a world that honors truth and virtue and selflessness over relativism, laziness, and hedonism.

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke)

Any other ideas, thoughts, or comments?

What is Progress?

I have to admit, every time I think I understand progress, the great rallying-call and force that moves society, I suddenly encounter a small thing, a very small thing that perhaps only I see, and it reminds me that progress after all is found in simple authenticity.

I used to think that the most important parts of the pro-life movement were vast campaigns, protests, and vocal lobbying groups. Now that I'm pregnant I see it very differently. The most effective force for spreading the gospel of life is parents that adore their children. My love for my hidden little one, my excitement bubbling over onto posters about prenatal development for my classroom, and my joyful conversations about pregnancy with my students has done more to spread the pro-life message in a poignant and personal way to my 90-some students than any lecture, march, or money-raising campaign.

I used to think our society was not progressing because great minds were being silenced. Working in education, I now know that our society is regressing because great minds are not being formed. My most rewarding moments as a teacher come from intelligent questions, signs of an attempt at excellence, and honest curiosity. If minds are being formed in truth and logic, the persistent mantras of the negative forces in our society will be proved to be shadows and the people will speak again and challenge the nervous leaders that have listened to Iago's council too long.

Society cannot "progress" without a starting point, and that starting point is the traditions of the past. Too often, our world tries to out do itself creating something novel, but not good, or philosophically intriguing, but not based on reality or human nature as we know it. I once had a professor ask us, "Has all the technology and discoveries of mankind made man better?" The answer is "no." Perhaps we have new ways of understanding the world and interacting with it, but man has the same ability to find true happiness that he has always had. True joy is found in simple things . . . a loving way of interacting with others, intellectual curiosity, the discovery of unchanging truths on which to found your life, and God.

[The above is a bit rambly, but I'll publish it anyhow.]

Whining Their Way Through the Culture War

The amazing thing about a completely biased media is that it reaches a point where reason, convincing arguments, and logic are all unnecessary. It repeats its glittering generalities and mantras enough times, and people stop thinking for themselves. As Dostoevsky so aptly phrased, "We like getting by on other people’s reason--we’ve acquired a taste for it!"

On the flip side, whenever a political or religious leader, celebrity, or a group of independent thinkers comes along with ideas that contradict or question the mantras we've all been trained to parrot, the media responds with horror and disgust.

A sadly poignant example is Pope Benedict's recent trip to Africa. While there, he condemned the racial and political movements that have oppressed freedom. He called Africa the land of hope and praised them for their religious fervor in a largely apathetic world. He also mentioned that abstinence was a more effective AIDs prevention tool than any number of responsibility-erasing condoms . . . and then there was wailing and gnashing of journalistic teeth.

When will they learn to address issues instead of generically crying "corrupter of the youth!," as the sophist Athenians did thousands of years ago to Socrates? When will people refuse to let these modern sophists rhetorically beg the question by whining about someone's audacity to contradict research we "all know" to be indubitably true? No longer can the rational members of society stand by while these media monologuers whine their way through the battles of the culture war. Those who dare to contradict the "p.c." voices need to do so with good arguments, statistics, and prayer.

Thank the Lord that we have a true leader in Pope Benedict, who seeks out ways to encourage nations to better themselves in areas of character as well as in the realms of physical and economic health. And if we ever get the guts to speak out, he may not stand alone; then, our country may again be the land of the free, instead of the land of the nodding couch-potatoes.

http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/articles.cfm?id=309

To Clear Up Any Confusion

The secular media has made it sound like the pope's meetings in Rome right now might change the teaching on priestly celibacy. I copied the article from Zenit below and it makes it rather clear that the pope is not planning on changing anything, he was just taking the opportunity to redefine the current teachings.

Pope, Curia Aides Reaffirm Value of Priestly CelibacySpecial Meeting Stresses Need for Formation
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 16, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI and his collaborators in the Roman Curia reaffirmed the importance of priestly celibacy, and stressed the need for a "human and Christian formation" for priests and seminarians.
The decision was confirmed in a communiqué issued by the Vatican press office, after a special meeting today held in the Apostolic Palace. The Pope presided at the gathering, which was attended by cardinals and archbishops who head dicasteries of the Curia.
The press office note revealed that "the participants in the meeting received detailed information on the petitions for dispensation from the obligation of celibacy presented in recent years and on the possibility of readmission, to the exercise of the ministry, of priests who at present meet the conditions established by the Church."
"Reaffirmed was the value of the option for priestly celibacy, according to the Catholic tradition, and the need was confirmed of a solid human and Christian formation both for seminarians as well as for already ordained priests," the communiqué said.
This was the third meeting of heads of dicasteries of the Holy See convoked by Benedict XVI.
A communiqué issued Tuesday by the Vatican press office explained that the meeting sought "to examine the situation that has been created after the disobedience of Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo." Milingo, 76, the retired archbishop of Lusaka, Zambia, ordained four bishops on Sept. 24 without papal approval, incurring automatic excommunication. Previously he had entered a civil marriage and was recently pushing for a married priesthood.
According to data from the Vatican Congregation for Clergy, every year about 1,000 priests leave the priestly ministry. The congregation also published data on priests who have returned to priestly ministry between 1970 and 1995. They undergo a rigorous procedure, carried out case by case. Their number varies greatly from one year to another. In those years, a total of 9,551 returned.

* * * Here is a translation of the communiqué issued by the Holy See today:
"This morning, November 16, in the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father presided over one of the periodic meetings with heads of dicasteries of the Roman Curia to engage in a joint reflection. Participants in the meeting received detailed information on petitions for dispensation from the obligation of celibacy presented in recent years and on the possibility of readmission, to the exercise of the ministry, of priests who at present meet the conditions established by the Church. The value was reaffirmed of the option for priestly celibacy, according to the Catholic tradition, and the need was confirmed for a solid human and Christian formation for seminarians as well as for already ordained priests." [Translation by ZENIT] ZE06111605

Patroness of Fallen Away & Lukewarm Catholics

Rimas, my teammate, is Lithuanian and told me about the first approved Marian apparition in Europe. Our Lady of Siluva appeared to a group of Calvinists to encourage them to return to the Catholic Church. Mary, under this title, is recognized as the patroness of fallen away and lukewarm Catholics. Let us ask her intercession for all those students, especially at UNF, who are tempted to waver in their fidelity to Our Lord and the beautiful life He calls us all to lead!

To read the whole story check out: http://ourladyofsiluva.com/our_lady/

In St. Paul's Footsteps

I always have admired St. Paul and his inspired service to Christians and non-Christians alike. One of the readings this week at Mass related one of my favorite episodes in his life. He was with the Greeks, saw that they had a statue to "The Unknown God" (kinda a catch-all for neglected divinities that might get offended). Paul took advantage of the opportunity and preached to them the true identity of the Unknown God--the Christian God who created the heavens and earth.

In our modern American society, Christ is again becoming an "Unknown God." In a video-taped study I saw recently, an analyst showed young children pictures of George Washington, Ronald McDonald, and Jesus. A few knew who George Washington was, all of them named Ronald McDonald instantly, none of them could identify Jesus. So sad. I want to give people an opportunity to meet the Unknown God or to develop their knowledge of and relationship with Him. Ergo, I'm off to two years with FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) to introduce people, through the grace of God, to the Unknown God and to show them the joy found in a life dedicated to Him. Please pray for me and I'll keep you updated!

God bless you all!